Additional State Patty’s Day Markers Show Event’s Decline

Lindsay Stoffer, a sophomore from Spring Mills, painted walls at the State College School District’s 154 W. Nittany Ave. location March 1 as part of the State Day of Service. Penn State students from the Delta Theta Sigma and Alpha Zeta agricultural societies were sprucing up areas used by the district’s Delta Program. (Provided photo)

UNIVERSITY PARK – More in-depth statistics on State Patty’s Day 2014 show declining crime and emergency room statistics, signaling that the drinking event is fading.

From Feb. 28 to March 2, police logged 102 arrests and citations — a 58 percent drop from 244 arrests/citations in 2013 — according to preliminary data from four agencies: State College Police Department, Penn State University Police Department, Centre County Alcohol Task Force and the borough’s Department of Ordinance Enforcement & Public Health. Compared to 2011, when arrests/citations were at 412, the 2014 statistics represented a 75 percent decline. Police made 14 driving under the influence arrests in 2014 as well as in 2013, a 52 percent decline from the 29 arrests that occurred in 2011.

Overall in 2014, State College and University police report a total of 135 crime and ordinance violations, a 47 percent decrease from the 254 reports received in 2013. Compared to the 367 reports in 2011, the 2014 statistics represent a 63 percent decline.

Staff at Mount Nittany Medical Center treated 34 alcohol-related cases over State Patty’s Day weekend, a 32 percent decline from the 50 in 2013, and also report lower blood-alcohol content levels for patients.

As in years past, a task force consisting of University and community representatives spearheaded multiple initiatives to create a safer campus and downtown over the weekend. Chief among the strategies was a stipend paid to 34 downtown establishments agreeing to forgo the serving and selling of alcohol; five area beer distributors also accepted stipends. Also on March 1, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board agreed to close its Wine and Spirit Stores in the Centre Region. In addition, the Penn State Interfraternity Council banned social functions over the weekend.